


Alone

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-23
Updated: 2016-08-23
Packaged: 2018-08-10 13:54:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7847674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The tree on South Hoof Peninsula remembers everything that happened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Alone

South Hoof Peninsula was once a hospitable place. That was a long time ago, though. Before Aideen went insane. Before The Great Thunder. Nobody remembered it properly. But the tree did. Not that it could talk anymore. Nobody would listen, even if it could talk.

It was a nice day when it happened. Birds had sung in the trees populating the land, the Welsh ponies had run back and forth between South Hoof and Epona, and everything was as it should have been.

And then The Great Thunder split the land asunder. Horses and trees both fell into the great divide created between Epona and South Hoof. The thin strip of land connecting the two places crumbled to sand. Stone cracked as new cliffs were formed, and the tree unleashed a great shriek of pain as its roots were severed. It was lucky that it couldn’t feel the death of its companion. But it saw the great power unleashed, and knew the magical signature.

“Aideen,” the tree called. She did not answer. It reached out to her with its magic instead. At the sense of darkness surrounding its creator, the tree recoiled. It could only watch as magic reformed the land and destroyed ancient Roman structures. One of its roots had spread beneath the seabed, and it used this to see the destruction being unleashed by the goddess.

It saw Lightning’s last stand in the muddy wreck of the newly-formed swamp. At some places, its roots had curled around the rune stones. In Pandoria, the images of the destruction were being broadcast, flitting through the rune stones and from tree to tree. All across Jorvik, the Ancient Trees fell dormant, winking out one by one so as not to be used by Aideen. A name was being whispered among them, too. _Nihili._

They all watched as Nihili shattered Lightning’s great sword and blasted a new hole through the land that the druids had made their home on. It was at that same moment that the Ancient Tree in Epona was destroyed, its ashes mixing with those of Lightning.

In a moment of great terror, the ancient guardians left by Aideen watched as the current incarnation of the goddess stalked towards the Dale. Working together, the trees worked to put up a forcefield protecting the Dale. It worked, and they watched the goddess as she tried to get through from the other side. When that failed, she collapsed in what they thought was defeat. But it was only exhaustion. When she fell asleep in the one remaining temple in the arms of one of the Dark Ones, the trees all returned to their natural forms.

But the Ancient Tree, guardian of South Hoof, was dying. The battle had gravely injured it, and there was nobody around to heal it. So it had no choice but to take energy from the land around it. The surrounding plants soon lost their lives, all happy to contribute to the protection of the land. Especially after what had just happened.

As the years passed, the tree began to sicken again. But no matter how sick it got, it would not take life from Aideen’s horses. It reached its roots out, searching endlessly for companionship. A way to connect to the network of trees on Jorvik. But it found nothing. It was helpless as the horses died from lack of food. But then a man appeared, one who had braved the treacherous seas to come to the mysterious island. He fed the horses and cared for them.

The tree was again helpless when the man brought evil to the land. It tried to trip the Dark One up, and did succeed in injuring her. But the man protected her, too. And so the tree left its physical form on Jorvik and travelled to Pandoria. Where it was safe. Perhaps someday, Aideen would return. And when she did, the tree would return to help her. She would heal it, or perhaps the Star would. But when Aideen called, the tree would come to her aid to protect Jorvik once more. Just as it had been since the dawn of time.


End file.
